By a Twist of History: The Three Lives of a Polish Jew

by Mietek Sieradzki

Overview

Mietek Sieradzki fled Nazi-occupied Poland to the Soviet Union, from where he was deported to Siberia. Life there was tough and harsh, but he escaped the Holocaust and after the war joined the Polish foreign service. He was posted in Moscow, London, Korea, Cambodia and Canada, in the latter two as head of mission. From the early stages of his career disillusionment with the system set in. In time his reluctance to conform and his Jewish origin made him a target for harassment by the secret services, and eventually the anti- Jewish campaign unleashed in Poland in 1968 ended his career and drove him out of the country. By a Twist of History describes Sieradzki's experiences at the time, and refutes the myth, wide-spread in Poland, that large numbers of Jews had worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and reflects on Polish anti-Semitism. Sieradzki and his family eventually settled in Britain to build a new life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780853034261
Publisher:	Vallentine Mitchell
Publication date:	09/30/2001
Series:	Library of Holocaust Testimonies
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	viii
	The Library of Holocaust Testimonies	ix
	Biographical Note	xi
	Introduction	xiii
	Foreword	xix
Part 1
1.	Childhood in Poland	3
2.	The Trials of War and Exile	15
3.	Early Days at the Polish Embassy	34
4.	International Commissions	51
Part 2
5.	Return of Polish Art Treasures: My Most Challenging Assignment	85
6.	My Canadian Experience	111
Part 3
7.	Back in Poland	139
8.	Anti-Semitism in the Open	165
9.	Building a New Life in Britain	184
10.	Reflections on Polish Anti-Semitism	204
11.	Personal Reflections	228